The tanks of Dieppe : the history of the Calgary Regiment (Tank), 1939 to August 19, 1942
Date
1991
Authors
Henry, Hugh George
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Abstract
At the outbreak of the Second World War, Canada possessed one of the most inadequately trained, ill-equipped and poorly prepared armed forces among the Allied nations. German blitzkrieg tactics in 1939 and 1940 underscored the need to create Canadian armoured units for action overseas. This paper examines the process of mobilization, organization, equipage, and training of the 14th Canadian Army Tank Regiment (14 CATR). Not only was it one of the first Canadian armoured regiments to be formed, but it was also the first to be committed to battle. Analysis of its actions at the Dieppe Raid reveals a total lack of understanding by senior Allied commanders concerning limitations and capabilities of the operational employment of tanks in a built-up area. An operational study of the actions of each one of the regiment's tanks that landed during the raid demonstrates problems faced at the regimental level. The regiment had been trained to support infantry but never under the extremely adverse battle conditions which presented themselves at Dieppe. A reinterpretation of misconceptions surrounding the regiment's performance and supposed lessons learned, follows.